Special Activities Division

The Special Activities Division (SAD) is a division of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the United States that is devoted to covert operations known as "special activities". Its Special Operations Group (SOG) was supposed to carry out tactical paramilitary operations while the Political Action Group (PAG) took part in covert political action. The SAD was extensively used against the Soviet Union during the Cold War, and the United States government had the ability to deny the existence of its operatives or its operations due to its "plausible deniability" ability.